Chicago Fire Research Paper

Words: 604
Pages: 3

Late in the evening, a fire started in a barn without any warning. Little did anybody know, this fire would be a devastating disaster. The Chicago Fire of 1871 was a fire that started from a barn and led to many people being homeless. The fire spread rapidly from the barn, and all of the wooden houses made it spread like wildfire, especially in the poorer districts. The dry weather in Chicago contributed to why the fire spread so quickly. Many deaths occurred due to them being trapped in their homes due to the fire. After many years, the cause of the Chicago Fire was never identified. The articles “This is the End of Chicago” by Lauren Tarhis and “A City Ready to Burn” by Jim Murphy are both about the Chicago Fire, but they have different central ideas. To start, the …show more content…
Since she was asleep, she could have done it. But, reporters still decided to create a lie about her. Tarshis states, “But reporters began to blame Catherine, printing lies that painted her as an irresponsible “hag” whose cow had kicked over a lantern while she was milking it” (Tarshis). The news came out that Catherine was the person who started the fire, and she became the scapegoat for the Chicago Fire. Even worse, many people believed that she started it because she was an immigrant. To close off, Catherine was blamed for the fire due to it starting in her barn, and it was also due to her being an immigrant. Conversely, the central idea of “A City Ready to Burn” by Murphy is that Chicago is an easily flammable city. For instance, “Many of the remaining buildings looked solid, but were actually jerry-built affairs; the stone or brick exteriors had wooden frames and floors, all topped with highly flammable tar or shingle roofs” (Murphy). Highly flammable tar paired with fast-burning wood is a major fire hazard. In addition, many buildings that claimed to be fireproof were really just another building built out of